Louis Mariette – Milliner Extraordinaire

Located in Chelsea, London is the millinery of Louis Mariette. Mariette founded the millinery in 2007 and simply named it after himself. The company has become well-known nationwide as the go-to millinery for custom-made headpieces and hats. Mariette-designed hats and headpieces tend to be magical and a little wild with a large dash of fantasy thrown in. Louis Mariette Millinery has often been featured in such well-respected magazines as Elle, Vanity Fair and Vogue, as well as many others.

While the millinery continues to create bespoke pieces for its many clients the company has expanded into the ready-to-wear, providing bridal hats, headpieces and hair accessories that reflect the playful, creative but elegant nature of the master milliner himself, Louis Mariette.

Mariette’s clientele is diverse, with famous women such as Kate Moss, Joan Collins, Jerry Hall, Dannii Minogue, Isabell Kristensen, Paris Hilton and the wildly talented Lady Gaga being seen wearing one of his spectacular creations.

Louis Mariette’s creations can be found proudly displayed for purchase at Harvey Nichols, Henri Bendel, Net-a-Porter.com, Tsum, Browns and in a selection of discerning boutiques worldwide.

About the Designer

Louis Mariette is Malawi-born and was raised living in Swaziland and Botswana, where he spent much of his leisure time exploring nature and collecting items that caught his eye and imagination, such as semi-precious stones, flowers and trimmings and beads gained from tribal members in the area.
As a child Mariette had the good fortune to travel to London, where he was fascinated by the bright lights, sounds and atmosphere that differed so much to what he had experienced in his home country. Combining the colors and textures of London with the colors and textures of Africa gave Mariette the inspiration that often reveals itself within his exotic but elegant creations today.

Mariette taught himself the art of millinery and his designs have been making fashion breakthroughs for a number of years. Based in London, Mariette, before starting his career as a milliner worked in the party and wedding planning industry. His first showing as a hat designer was in Milan in 2002, at which Mariette’s pieces were very well received and his skills as a milliner given high praise. The show was commissioned by the Michael Dye, renowned stylist.

It was not long after the Milan showing that Harrods approached Mariette and requested he design a piece for them. Today, his spectacular creation “Chapeau d’Amour” is considered to be one of the most expensive hats in the world, if not the most expensive. The hat was commissioned for Harrods newly renovated hat department. Mariette created the magnificent piece from platinum fabric and studded it with diamonds.

Mariette’s career has exploded since the unveiling of the “Chapeau d’Amour”, with the top creative directors and stylists clamoring to obtain one of his designs. His creations have graced many pages in fashion magazines worldwide, as well as being the center of attraction in windows of such well-known establishments as Swarovski and Harrods. Mariette-designed hats and headpieces have been exhibited at the New York Public Library as well as adorning the perfectly coiffed heads of celebrities and other famous women at high society events. Mariette has also worked closely with other talented designers such as Qasimi, Nichole de Carle and Manish Arora.

Mariette was the official milliner for the Investec 2011 at Epsom Downs, and designed a spectacular headpiece exclusively for model Erin O’Connor to wear as the face of the Epsom Derby. Mariette told Vogue that he got his inspiration for the piece from “the kaleidoscopic colorings of my favorite bird – the lilac breasted roller bird”. That same year Mariette co-hosted coverage of Royal Ascot for the BBC.
Mariette’s keen eye for detail makes creating unique designs for his clients and within minutes of seeing them he has already formed a design in his mind that will be perfectly fitting both for the client and the occasion it is to be worn at, regardless of whether it be a wedding, a cocktail party or attending the Oscars.

Mariette loves to travel and has ventured to a great many parts of the world where he sources the best fabrics and embellishments. His creative flair includes the use of such items as porcupine quills, semi-precious stones, feathers, hand-embroidered fabrics and antique embellishments. Mariette loves to explore the farthest reaches of his craft and describes his style as a mixture of romance, elegance, escapism, avant-garde, experiment and free expression.

In 2009 Mariette was a judge on “Britain’s Next Top Model” Season Five and said that it was a magical experience that he cherishes and is grateful for the opportunity to motivate the girls to strive for their goals, stick with their dream and stay positive no matter what life throws at them.

Mariette is in high demand to design for some of the major companies in the world, such as Harrods, Swarovski, Jaguar, Platinum Guild, Boucheron and many others.

Mariette has received an award from the Tanzanite Foundation for his creations and holds the position of Vice President of The Children’s Trust.